"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference."
~ Elie Wiesel

Friday, July 26, 2013

Still

See here, our Appalachia, our
bone and blood. Listen, our
Double Creek girl: you are
what happens when we know
that God lives in between
the pages of books and at the tips
of pencils and on the sharp
edges of notebook paper.
~Silas House

There's good stuff in Still, an arts journal which focuses on Southern Appalachia.

Remember that time your dog died and I didn't tell you for months
Because you had deployed and George Bush was shouting,
Bring it on and we were all thinking that Korea was fixing to blow.
But, when I emailed to say we were headed for West Virginia,
You fired back, Mom, where is Annie? and I had to say she was hit by a car.
I sent brownies loaded with black walnuts from the old home place.

The editors of Still: The Journal announce the fourth annual Writing Contests for fiction, poetry and nonfiction. Contest entries should be in keeping with our submission philosophy which states: “Our emphasis is on the literature of the Southern Appalachian region, and we are committed to publishing excellent writing that does not rely on clichés and stereotypes. We want to feature writing that exemplifies the Mountain South or that is written by an author with a connection to the region.”

8 comments:

The two particular poems you shared are wonderful, Tabatha. "Serving" brought tears, knowing what some are experiencing, and have for so, so long, and the families who are trying so hard to do what they know to do-heart-breaking. And-FYI-Matt Forrest has taken over Poetry Friday today-new link! Thanks for all these lovely poems!

I have to agree with everyone that "Serving" pulled on those heart strings. Thanks for sharing. I also loved your tritina, a new form for me. I love how your use of the repeating words build the poem rather than drag it down. Great!

I enjoyed reading the poems from STILL, Tabatha. I've not seen this journal before, so thanks! I live about two hours from the southern Appalachians and visit often with my family. Great tritina over at Keri's, too! = )